How many calories are in chicken shawarma?
A 3 oz (84 g) serving of sliced chicken shawarma meat carries 190 calories. Per 100 g the meat runs 226 calories, with 20.24 g of protein and almost no carbohydrate. The bread, rice or sauce you wrap around it is what changes the total, and it changes it a lot.
You'd need to walk about 38 minutes to burn the 190 calories in a 3 oz (84 g) serving of sliced meat.
How long does it take to burn off 190 kcal of chicken shawarma?
A 3 oz (84 g) serving of sliced meat is 190 kcal. Enter your weight and the amount you ate to see how long it takes you to burn that off:
lb
| Activity | Time to burn 190 kcal |
|---|---|
| Walking, brisk | 38 min |
| Cycling, moderate | 24 min |
| Swimming, moderate | 27 min |
| Jogging | 22 min |
| Weight training, moderate | 42 min |
Times are for a 155 lb adult at a steady pace; change the weight to see yours. The amount is set to the portion in the text (84 g); change it to what you actually ate. BodyPal works this out from your steps automatically.
On this page
- Chicken shawarma quick facts
- US servings, from one ounce to a full cup
- Wraps, bowls and gyro sandwiches
- Sodium is the row that moves first
- How does chicken shawarma compare?
- Most popular chicken shawarma brands
- Chicken shawarma FAQs
Chicken shawarma quick facts
USDA has no shawarma entry in FNDDS, SR Legacy or Foundation Foods. The closest survey record is a whole gyro sandwich, bread and sauce included, which answers a different question than the one most people are asking. So the numbers below come from a US Nutrition Facts label instead: FDC 2138117, "Flame Broiled Chicken Gyros Slices", sold as Opaa! flame broiled chicken gyros slices. That is the vertical-spit meat on its own, carved and ready to eat, which is exactly what sits on the plate before anything else joins it.
One thing this label settles for you: the meat is already cooked. There is no raw-to-cooked conversion to do here, no 4 oz raw shrinking to 3 oz on the plate. What you weigh is what you eat, and the 226 calories per 100 g already include the fat that stayed in after broiling.
| Nutrient | Per 100 g | Per 3 oz (84 g) | % Daily Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 226 | 190 | — |
| Total fat | 14.29 g | 12.0 g | 15% |
| Saturated fat | 2.98 g | 2.5 g | 13% |
| Carbohydrate | 4.76 g | 4.0 g | 1% |
| Dietary fiber | 0 g | 0.0 g | 0% |
| Total sugars | 0 g | 0.0 g | — |
| Added sugars | 0 g | 0.0 g | 0% |
| Protein | 20.24 g | 17.0 g | 34% |
| Sodium | 714 mg | 600 mg | 26% |
% Daily Value is based on a 2,000-calorie diet.
Verified nutrition data
Numbers on this page come from USDA FoodData Central, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s food composition database, and from manufacturer labels where a branded product is named. Last verified September 2026. How we verify our data →
Two more rows worth knowing. Cholesterol is 65 mg per 100 g, or 55 mg in the 3 oz serving, which is 18% of the Daily Value. Potassium is 365 mg per 100 g, 307 mg per serving, 7% DV. This particular record is unusually complete for a branded entry: it carries added sugars and trans fat as well, both at zero, so nothing had to be dropped from the table for missing data.
One honest caveat. This is a packaged US product built from breast and thigh meat. Restaurant shawarma is often stacked with more thigh, basted while it turns, and shaved with a fattier edge, so a plate from a spit can sit above these figures. USDA does not publish a record for restaurant-carved shawarma, so there is no number to give you for that gap.
US servings, from one ounce to a full cup
| Serving | Weight | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| 1 oz sliced | 28 g | 63 kcal |
| 3 oz sliced, the label serving | 84 g | 190 kcal |
| 4 oz sliced | 113 g | 255 kcal |
| 1 cup sliced | 140 g | 316 kcal |
| 6 oz, a full plate portion | 170 g | 384 kcal |
| Per 100 g | 100 g | 226 kcal |
Only the 3 oz line is a USDA serving. The other weights are our own arithmetic from the USDA 100 g figure, scaled and rounded, not sizes the label itself declares.
That cup row is where most people lose track. A cup of loosely packed shaved meat weighs about 140 g, so it lands at 316 calories, roughly two-thirds more than the 3 oz portion printed on the package. If you log shawarma by the cup and compare it against a label built on ounces, you are quietly under-counting by more than a hundred calories every time. Weigh it once on a kitchen scale and you will know which of the two rows your usual helping actually matches.
For meal math, 6 oz of meat on a plate with salad is 384 calories and 34 g of protein, which fits comfortably inside a 350 to 450-calorie lunch only if the sides stay light.
Wraps, bowls and gyro sandwiches
Shawarma almost never arrives naked. Here is what the same meat costs once it has been packed into bread, rice or couscous, each line from its own USDA record. Where a record declares no serving of its own, the portion weight is our own scaling from the USDA 100 g figure.
| Version | Per 100 g | Typical portion | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sliced meat only | 226 kcal | 3 oz (84 g) | 190 kcal |
| Chicken shawarma lavash wrap | 138 kcal | half a wrap (174 g) | 240 kcal |
| Chicken shawarma rice bowl | 147 kcal | 1 cup (136 g) | 200 kcal |
| Chicken shawarma with pearled couscous | 114 kcal | one bowl (255 g) | 291 kcal |
| Chicken gyro in pita, with sauce | 212 kcal | one sandwich (208 g) | 441 kcal |
| Gyro sandwich, beef and lamb | 184 kcal | 6 oz (170 g) | 313 kcal |
| Chicken gyro triangles, breaded | 375 kcal | 4 pieces (88 g) | 330 kcal |
Read the first two columns against each other and you get the single most useful fact on this page. The lavash wrap is only 138 calories per 100 g against 226 for the meat, so per gram it is the lighter food. But half a wrap weighs 174 g against 84 g for the label serving of meat, and 240 beats 190. Bread lowers the density and raises the total at the same time. Anyone eyeballing "calories per 100 g" to pick the lighter lunch gets this one backwards.
The pita sandwich is the outlier at 441 calories, and it earns that number twice over: 212 per 100 g from the sauce and 208 g of it on the plate. The couscous plate is the opposite case, the lowest density in the table at 114 per 100 g, but a full 255 g bowl still adds up to 291. Breaded gyro triangles sit at 375 per 100 g, the densest thing here, because they are battered and fried rather than broiled; four pieces run 330 calories. Marinades and spice rubs sold under the shawarma name barely register, since they land on the meat by the teaspoon.
Sodium is the row that moves first
Calories are not the interesting number on this label. Sodium is. A 3 oz serving delivers 600 mg, which is 26% of the FDA Daily Value of 2,300 mg, against 34% of the protein DV and about a tenth of a 2,000-calorie day. That is roughly a quarter teaspoon of table salt in a portion the size of a deck of cards.
Eat a cup of it instead and you are at 1,000 mg before the pickles, the garlic sauce or the bread. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans keep 2,300 mg as the ceiling for adults, so a single generous shawarma plate can take out close to half the day. If you are watching sodium, the meat-only portion at 3 oz is the version to order, and the sauce is where to hold back.
The protein side is genuinely good news. Seventeen grams in 190 calories puts shawarma among the leaner ways to hit the MyPlate protein group target, and saturated fat stays modest at 2.5 g, 13% DV, for a portion that size. Carbohydrate is 4.0 g per serving, 1% DV, and fiber is zero, which is expected for plain meat and not a flaw in it.
How does chicken shawarma compare?
| Food | Per 100 g | US serving | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken shawarma, sliced meat | 226 kcal | 3 oz (84 g) | 190 kcal |
| Gyro sandwich, beef and lamb | 184 kcal | 6 oz (170 g) | 313 kcal |
| Chicken shawarma lavash wrap | 138 kcal | half a wrap (174 g) | 240 kcal |
| Chicken gyro in pita, with sauce | 212 kcal | one sandwich (208 g) | 441 kcal |
Our take: order the meat, skip the assembly, and shawarma is the best deal on the counter. Three ounces for 190 calories and 17 g of protein is hard to beat at a street stall, and it beats every sandwich row in this table on calories per serving. The wrap is the lightest per gram of the four, at 138, yet the smallest sandwich here still costs 240. If the choice is chicken shawarma against a classic beef-and-lamb gyro, the chicken wins on the calorie count of a realistic portion, 190 against 313. If the choice is a plate against a pita, take the plate: the pita version is the one line here that clears 400 calories.
Most popular chicken shawarma brands in the United States
Ranked by how widely each product appears among foods sold in the United States, from the BodyPal food database of over 3.3 million products. Calories are the figures printed on each Nutrition Facts label, checked against USDA FoodData Central.
| Product | Calories (per 100 g) |
|---|---|
| Opaa! Flame Broiled Chicken Gyros Slices | 226 cal |
| Private Selection Chicken Gyro Triangles | 375 cal |
Brand popularity: BodyPal food database. Nutrition: manufacturer labels / USDA FoodData Central.
Chicken shawarma FAQs
How many calories are in chicken shawarma?
190 calories in a 3 oz (84 g) serving of the sliced meat, which works out to 226 calories per 100 g. That portion also brings 17 g of protein, 12 g of fat and 4 g of carbohydrate. Bread, rice and sauce are counted separately, and they add more than the meat does.
How many calories in a chicken shawarma wrap?
240 calories in half a lavash flatbread wrap weighing 174 g, from the USDA branded record at 138 calories per 100 g. A whole wrap of that size doubles it. The bread makes the food less dense per gram than plain meat but heavier on the plate, so the total still climbs.
How much protein is in chicken shawarma?
17 g of protein in a 3 oz (84 g) serving, or 20.24 g per 100 g of sliced meat. That is 34% of the Daily Value in a portion carrying only about a tenth of a 2,000-calorie day. A cup of shaved meat at 140 g pushes protein to roughly 28 g.
Is chicken shawarma high in sodium?
Yes - 600 mg of sodium sits in a 3 oz serving, 26% of the FDA Daily Value of 2,300 mg, or about a quarter teaspoon of table salt. Per 100 g it is 714 mg. A cup of the meat reaches 1,000 mg before any sauce, pickles or bread join the plate.
Chicken shawarma vs gyro: which has fewer calories?
Chicken shawarma meat is 226 calories per 100 g against 184 for a beef-and-lamb gyro sandwich, but portions decide it: 3 oz of shawarma is 190 calories while a 6 oz gyro serving is 313. The gyro looks lighter per gram only because its bread and sauce dilute the meat.
How many calories in a chicken shawarma bowl?
200 calories in a 1 cup (136 g) shawarma rice bowl, which runs 147 calories per 100 g. A couscous version is lighter per gram at 114, but a full 255 g bowl of it comes to 291 calories. Bowl size matters more than which grain is underneath.
How many carbs are in chicken shawarma?
4.0 g of carbohydrate in a 3 oz serving, just 1% of the Daily Value, with zero sugars and zero fiber. Per 100 g the meat holds 4.76 g. Almost every carb in a shawarma meal comes from the pita, lavash, rice or couscous around it, not from the meat.
Is chicken shawarma healthy?
On the numbers it is a lean protein food: 190 calories, 17 g of protein and 2.5 g of saturated fat per 3 oz, which is 13% of the Daily Value. Sodium is the weak spot at 26% DV per serving. Ordered as meat and salad rather than a sauced pita, it fits most calorie budgets.
Similar foods
- Chuck Steak — 360 cal per steak
- Chile relleno — 326 cal per chile relleno
- Beef brisket — 208 cal per thick slice
- Skirt Steak — 187 cal for 3 oz cooked
- Hash Brown — 119 cal per patty
- Chicken — 203 cal for 3 oz roasted
Count it without the math
Point the camera at the plate and BodyPal counts the shawarma for you, wrap and sauce included.
